For The Best
by Faceless Charmer
Summary: Onesided yaoi feelings from Kaoru. One of the girls that Hikaru and Kaoru hurt in Middle School is ready to let Kaoru have it, let him know how much his words hurt her. So, how did she end up sitting next to him, listening to him talk about his brother?


**I don't appreciate that I have to WARN YOU that there will be some yaoiness in this. Don't appreciate it at all. **

* * *

She'd heard about them, of course. Who hadn't? They were the famous Hitachiin twins, that everyone loved and adored. Everyone who didn't know them from the past, anyway. She did her very best to ignore them, after what they'd done to her. She had no idea what she'd do if she saw them again. She was so glad she wasn't in their class. She thought about it, though. What she would do if she could talk to them. In her head, there were tons of scenarios, but she never thought she'd have the chance to try.

But then, she them.

She saw him sitting in the courtyard. The one the love letter had been originally addressed to. Kaoru Hitachiin. At least, he thought it was him. Because the horrible truth was, just like that fateful day, she couldn't tell them apart.

_You're horrible._

_Saying you'd be okay with either of us, really means you don't want either of us, doesn't it?_

_For a girl with such a pretty face, you really have a nasty personality. _

Their words still echoed in her head. Because they were horrible, nasty, and mean.

And because she was a little bit afraid it was true.

She stared closely. This was the first time she'd seen him since he'd said all those mean things to her. She hadn't been in his class then, either. He was even cuter then the last time she'd seen him. They'd changed their hair, she knew that much, but it was a good look for them.

She still wasn't sure it was Kaoru though, but for some reason, she suspected it was. She saw the other twin, the one she suspected to be Hikaru, walking away with Fujioka-kun, the newest host in the club. He looked back over his shoulder, and waved, shouting, "Be back in a minute, Kaoru!"

So she was right. The one sitting alone was Kaoru. She looked at him closely. He looked...sad, somehow.

But she musn't dwell on that. If she really wanted to say all the things she'd been holding in, she had to remain strong, and not pull her punches.

After all, they hadn't pulled their punches in the slightest.

She walked across the courtyard, heading straight for him. For a few seconds, he didn't realize she was coming at him, but once he did, he looked up, seeming confused.

Then he smiled.

"Hello." he said. "Can I help you, Princess?"

The smile and kind words were so far from her perception of him that she stopped mid-step, a few feet from him. She gulped, and forced the words out, even though she was secretly terrified. No way she would have been able to do this if both twins were here. The reason she'd chosen to direct her words to Kaoru was because he was the one she had written the letter too.

And because, for some reason she couldn't explain, Hikaru scared her more.

"Y-you don't remember me, do you?" she asked lowly, and he cocked his head.

"No." he said. "Should I? I think I would remember such a pretty face." He smiled again.

"Shut up!" she said, tears springing to her eyes. She hadn't expected him to compliment her. Why would he do that, after what he had said to her? His eyes were wide in alarm at her explosion, and she noticed a few people were looking. She thought about raising her voice, and saying everything so that everyone could here. Everyone could now how horrible the Hitachiin twins really were.

But, despite the fact that they'd humiliated her, they had not done in public, but in private. And she felt obligated to do the same.

She moved closer, and said, more quietly this time, "My name is Mari Yosube. I wrote you a love letter, when we were in Middle School."

He stared at her, and as she watched, his eyes dawned in comprehension, and filled with something she had not expected to see.

Guilt.

"I see." he said, whispering now. He moved over on the bench he was sitting on, and indicated she could sit beside him. She hesitated, because now that her anger was out, she wanted to let it free. But, she took the seat, and they sat in silence for a few seconds, until, suddenly, without warning, she found herself crying, all his terrible insults running through her head.

He looked at her in alarm, and bit his lip. He looked a bit like he might cry himself.

"I...I...please don't cry." he said, and she angrily brushed the tears away.

"It's your fault."

He touched her hand, softly. "I really made such a pretty girl cry?"

She nodded, pulling her hand away. "You're awful."

He nodded. "I agree, Mari-chan. What me and Onii-chan did, it was more then awful. It was despicable. Shameful. We didn't know how much we were hurting people."

She looked at him incredulously. "How could you not know that?"

He gave a small smile. "To us, the rest of you were barely even human. All that mattered was us."

That sounded... a little unhealthy. She'd heard they were close, and she knew that they acted like they were actually an item in the host club, and while it hadn't surprised her, she had thought it was all an act. Where they really in some sort of relationship?

"I'm sorry." he said, interrupting her thoughts. "If I could go back and punch myself in the face, I would. And more."

She looked at him, deep into his eyes, which were one of the things she'd first loved about him, and saw that he was telling the truth. She wanted to yell and scream some more, to let him know just how much it had really hurt, but she saw no point in it.

"Well...I'm over it." she said, which wasn't true. "Besides, you were right."

He looked at her curiously. "About what?"

"It was rather rude of me to not even be able to tell you both apart, and then say yes when I thought you were Hikaru."

He shrugged. "Back then, we were very unrealistic with what we wanted from people. It was our fault."

They were quiet again, before he said, "If it makes you feel any better, love didn't work out for me either."

She saw that he was knowing staring off into the direction that Hikaru-kun and Fujioka-kun had gone. Automatically, she might have assumed he meant Fujioka-kun, but right away, she could that was not that case.

"Hitachiin-kun, do you really love your brother?"

He sighed, his eyes heavy with a secret he wasn't supposed to tell. "Call me Kaoru, Mari-chan. And...yes, I do really love Hikaru. In a way that I shouldn't."

The heartbreak in his eyes let her know right away what the problem was. "He likes Fujioka-kun though, doesn't he?"

He smiled, in a way that made her think he was hiding something. "Yes. He does."

"Well, that doesn't mean it's too late. I think Fukioka-kun likes Tamaki-senpai."

He nodded. "Yes, I believe so too. Which is why I am sad."

"Sad?" She was confused. "Shouldn't you be happy? That means you still have a chance!"

He shook his head. "I want Hikaru to be happy, more then I want myself to be happy. I can't make him happy the same way Haruhi can. When he finally realizes that Haruhi doesn't like him the same way, it will break his heart."

"The way he's broken yours?"

He looked up at the sky, and she thought she could see tears in his eyes. "Maybe. But, I'll take what I can get. And I can't blame Haruhi. He doesn't realize that he's torn us apart. Besides, maybe it's for the best."

"How?"

"Maybe it's unhealthy. The only person I want in the world is Hikaru. If it was just me and him, forever, I would have been happy. But, everything changes. The pumpkin can't stay a carriage forever. And now, we've grown apart. I don't even think he's realized it." Now she knew for sure that he was crying.

She grabbed his hand gently, and he let her. "I'm sorry. That the one you love doesn't...doesn't need you anymore." That sounded too harsh, and she wished she hadn't said it, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. So, she quickly added. "Not that he doesn't still need you. I think Hikaru-kun would be heartbroken if anything happened to you."

He smiled at her, and even though he'd smiled at her a lot during this conversation, this felt like the first real one.

"Thank you, Mari-chan."

"You're welcome, Kaoru-kun."

"Kaoru! We're back!"

They both looked up, and Mari saw him perk up instantly at the sight of his older twin, running over, waving like they'd been separated a lot longer then five minutes. He started to get up, but then, remembering Mari-chan, stopped, and looked at her.

"Go ahead." she said. "I need to get to my friends anyway."

She took a few steps away, but then she turned and asked, "Kaoru-kun, what would you have said, if I'd been able to tell it was you the whole time? Or if I had turned you down when you were pretending to be Hikaru?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I still would have said no."

She smiled. "Well then, maybe it was all for the best."

Then they parted ways, and when she looked back, and saw the famous Hitachiin twins hugging, she smiled. A lot of other girls did too, but she knew it was for a different reason.

"Good luck, Kaoru-kun." she said.

* * *

_I really love Kaoru. I feel so bad for him. And I know how he feels, when the one closest to you starts drifting away. That's why I wrote this. That, and I wanted to show one of the girls they'd treated badly. Mari's a nice girl, isn't she? _

_Well, I hoped you liked it! _


End file.
